Evacuator for fruit jars



Jan. 25, 1944. B. MAHLK 2,339,791

EVACUATOR FOR FRUIT JARS l 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 il 2. vil/@[7 7 Jan. 25,' 1944. B. MAHLKE EVACUATOR FOR FRUIT JARS Filed March 22, 1941. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 25, 1944 UNITED STATS @ATENT @ENCE EVACUATOR FOR FRUIT JARS Bruno Mahlke", Kenosha, Wis., assigner to Norman C. Gross, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application March 22, 1941, Serial No. 384,640

(Cl. 22S-'82) l1 Claims.

r'I-his invention relates to evacuatorsfor exhausting air from fruit jars and the like for home canning.v

In the hot pack method of canning, the partial vacuum which forms within the jarupon cooling of its contents can be utilized to hold the cover or lid in place. The cover most generally used in this method of canning consists of a flat disc-like lid having a gurnmed edge which engages the mouth of the jar.

In the conventional use of this equipment, the diaphragm-like lid or cover is held in place by a ring screwed onto the jar unti1 the contents have cooled sufficiently to create the partial vac-- uum in the jar. The ring isl then removed.

The present invention is designed for use with this type of equipment and has as its purpose to obviate the need for such initial retaining rings. To this end it is an object of the present invention to provide a simple evacuator by which the air trapped in the top of thev jar may be quickly and veasily exhausted from' the jar at the time the jar is sealed so that adequate suction is immediately available to hold the cover securely in place.

Evacuators for' this purpose have been proposed in the past but heretofore all such devices have been rather complicated and otherwise objectionable.

One of the most prevalent objections to such` past evacuators has been the necessity of applying a pull on the' actutor of the suction pump in a direction away from the jar so that it was difficult to keep the unit properly positioned on the jar.

It is therefore another object of this invention to provide an evacuator of the character described which is so designed that the force necessary to actuate its suction pump is applied in a downward direction toward the jar to thus securely shown in Figure l.

mode so far devised for the practical applications of the principles thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly broken away and in section illustrating the evacuator of this invention applied to a fruit jar preparatory to exhausting the air therefrom;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l but showing the parts in their positions at which the suction stroke has been partially completed;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional View taken through Figure 2 on the plane of the line 3 3;

Figure 4 is a .detail sectional view taken through Figure 2 on the plane of the line ll-i;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure Z showing a modified form of the invention; and

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional View taken through Figure 5 o-n the plane of the line 5-6.

Referring now particularly to the accompanyn ing drawings, in which like numerals indicate like parts, the numeral 5 designates an open-bottomed cap which is positionable over the mouth of ajar 6 to which a cover 'l has been previously applied. A rubber ring 8 or its equivalent lines the cylindrical wall of the cap to enable a fluidtight connection between the cap and the mouth of the jar.

At its central portion, the top wall of the cap has a tubular externally threaded boss 9 to which a hollow stem lil is secured. The bore through the boss 9 provides a port communicating the interior or" the hollow stem with the interior of y the cap.

A piston Il secured at the upper end of the hollow stem l0 cooperates With a cylinder I2 to form a suction pump,cornmunicated with the cap through the hollow stem. The cylinder l2 is an inverted cup-shaped unit secured to a cylinder head i3 which is slidably splined to the stem. Keyways lli in opposite sides of the stem receive projections on the cylinder head to provide the splined connection and hold the cylinder against turning about the stem.

A spring l5 having its lower end hooked to a cross pin It fixed in the hollow stem and its upf per end attached to a hook Il supported on the top wall of the cylinder yieldingly draws the cylinder down to its potentially operative position Hence, upon upward motion of the cylinder the suction stroke of the pump is effected to exhaust the air from the cap 5 and consequently the jar.

Such motion is imparted to the cylinder by a pair or' manually operable actuators in the form of bell crank levers I8, the long arms I9 or" Which constitute the handles per se.

The bell crank levers are pivoted as at 23 on supports 2I which may be lateral extensions on the lower end of the stem I or any other suitable construction. The pivots, however, must be fixed with relation to the stem and consequently, the cap, and inasmuch as the cap is removable, it is preferable to have the supports 2l formed as part of the stem.

The extremities of the short arms 22 of the bell crank levers carry cross pins 23 which engage in guideways 24 formed in the undersurface of the cylinder head I3. of the bell crank arms 22 is at one side of the tubular stem and the other is at the opposite side thereof, and that they face each other.

Outward and downward pressure exerted on It is to be observed that one the handles I9 thus rocks the actuators about their pivotal supports and forces the cylinder upwardly to effect the suction stroke of the pump.

At the extreme limit of the upward stroke of J the cylinder when the piston occupies its lowermost position in the cylinder as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 a relief port 25 in the cylinder wall is uncovered to relieve the suction and permit free removal of the evacuator vfrom the jar.

Another relief port 2B in the lowermost portion of the cylinder allows free retraction of the cylinder to its potentially operative position shown in Figure 1, and permits the piston to assume its lowermost position indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2 below the port 25 by preventing an air trap.

It is preferable to have some means for pressing the cover down onto the mouth of the jar during evacuation vand also to bow the cover downwardly at its middle so as to facilitate the escape of air past its gummed edge. To this end a pin 21 is slidably mounted in the bore passing through the boss 9 and yieldingly urged downwardly by a compression spring 28 confined between it and a spring seat 29 in the hollow stem.

The pin has a polygonal cross section so as not to close the exhaust port leading from the cap, and its outward limit of motion is defined by the engagement of shoulders 30 with the outer end or top of the ooss 9. r

In view of the fact that the cap has a threaded connection with the tubular stem ID, it follows that the cap may be removed to permit the substitution of other caps of different size so as to readily accommodate jars having different sized mouths.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a modied form of the invention wherein an open-bottomed cap 3| is positionable over the mouth of the jar in a manner similar to that shown in Figure l. A rubber cup 32 lines the top and cylindrical walls of the cap and preferably embraces the edge of the cap as at 33.

The top Wall of the cap and its rubber liner are centrally apertured, to receive anexternally threaded boss 34 on a disc 35.` The disc 35 fits against the bottom of the rubber liner and the boss 34 provides means by which the cap assembly may be removably secured to the hollow stem I0. This `arrangement facilitates interchanging of caps for different sized jars.

As in the construction previously described the boss 34 is bored to provide a port communicating the interior of the hollow stem with the interior of the cap.

The lower end of the hollow stem I 0' has a disc 36 rigidly secured thereto. This disc corresponds to the supports 2I. Its peripheral edge is struck up to provide an annular fiange 31. At diametrically opposite points this flange has lateral projections to provide pivot bearings 38 which receive the pivots of the bell crank levers I8',

The short arms 22' of the bell crank levers are curved to dispose their inner extremities at op- Dosite sides of the stem I0' while the pivots are directly opposite and on the median longitudinal plane of the device. Rollers 39 carried by the inner ends of the arms 22 engage the undersurface of the cylinder head I3.

When the cylinder I2 is in its lowermosi-l inoperative position engaging the top of the flange 31, as shown 1n dotted lines in Figure 5, the short arms 22 of the bell crank levers are completely enclosed to improve the appearance of the unit.

Inasmuch as the engagement between the arms 22' and the bottom of the cylinder head I3 requires no track, it is unnecessary to hold the cylinder against turning. However, to relieve the tension spring I5 of torsional strains which might be imposed if the cylinder turned, the stem III' is preferably hexagonal or otherwise polygonal in cross-section and the hole in the cylinder head I3 is correspondingly shaped.

In other respects the construction shown in Figure 5 is similar to that of Figure 1.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be readily apparent that this invention provides an exceedingly simple and practical evacuator for use in home canning.

I claim:

1. An evacutor for fruit jars and the like of the type in which the covers are held on by vacuum within the jar comprising: a cap of a size to telescope over the entire mouth of the jar; a suction pump communicating with the interior of the cap, said suction pump including a piston xed with relation to the cap and a cylinder for the piston movable away from the cap in the suction stroke of the pump; and a pairof manually operable levers each fulcrumed at an intermediate point thereof from a part connected with the cap and having driving portions extending substantially upwardly from said fulcrums and driven portions connected with the cylinder to force the same away from the cap in consequence to a downward application of force on the driving portions of the levers to thereby render the suction pump operative.

2. In an evacuator for fruit jars and the like of the type wherein the cover is held in place by vacuum within the jar: a cap positionable over the covered mouth of the jar and having a port through which air may be exhausted from the cap and consequently from the interior of the jar; a pair of bell crank levers fulcrumed from a part fixed withrelation to the cap at substantially diametrically opposite sides of the cap, one leg of each of said levers constituting a handle, the other legs projecting toward each other so that their extremities move upwardlyupon downward application of force on the vhandle portions `of the levers; and a suction pump operableby said upwardly moving legs of the bell crank levers and connected with the port in the cap to exhaust air from the c ap.

3. In an evacuator for fruit jars and the like of the type wherein the cover is held in place by vacuum within the jar: a cap positionable on the covered mouth of the jar and having a port through which air may be exhausted from the cap and consequently from the interior of the jar; a pair of bell crank levers fulcrumed from a part xed with relation to the cap at 'substantially diametrically opposite sides of the cap, one leg of each of said levers constituting a handle, the other legs projecting toward each other so that their extremities move upwardly upon downward application of force on the handle portions of the levers; a suction pump operable by said upwardly moving legs of the bell crank levers and connected with the port in the cap to exhaust air from the cap; and spring means for yieldingly holding said bell crank levers in a position at which their handle portions project upwardly.

4. An evacuator of the character described comprising: a cap adapted to t the mouth of a jar to be evacuated, said cap having a port through its top wall; a tubular stem connected with the cap in communication with the port: a piston on said tubular stem; a cylinder slidable on said stem and cooperating with the piston to form a suction pump opening to the interior of the cap through said tubular stem; and a manually operable actuator for eiecting relative motion between the piston and cylinder.

5. An evacuator of the character described comprising: a cap adapted to it the mouth of a jar to be evacuated, said cap having a port through its top wall; a tubular stem connected with the cap in communication with the port; a piston on said tubular stem; a cylinder slidable on said stem and cooperating with the piston to form a suction pump opening to the interior of the cap through said tubular stem; and actuating means iulcrumed to swing about axes fixed with relation to the cap and connected with the cylinder to lift the cylinder and eifect a suction stroke of the pump upon operation of said actuating means.

6. An evacuator of the character described comprising: a cap adapted to iit the mouth of a jar to be evacuated, said cap having a port through its top wall; a tubular stem connected with the cap in communication with the port; a piston on said tubular stem; a cylinder slidable on said stem and cooperating with the piston to form a suction pump opening to the interior of the cap through said tubular stem; and a bell crank lever having its apex fulcrumed to swing about an axis fixed with relation to the cap and having one of its legs connected to the cylinder and its other leg forming a handle so positioned that depression of the handle forcibly lifts the cylinder to effect the suction stroke of the pump.

7. An evacuator of the character described comprising: a cap positionable over the mouth of a jar to be evacuated; a hollow stem extending up from the top wall of the cap and opening to the interior of the cap; a piston fixed to the stem at a distance from the cap; a cylinder slidable on the piston to form a suction pump for exhausting air from the cap upon motion of the cylinder away from the cap; slideways in the bottom wall of the cylinder at opposite sides of the stem; and bell crank levers pivoted to swing about axes iixed with relation to the cap and eaach having one leg thereof engaging in said slideways and its other leg extending upwardly and outwardly to provide handles by which the cylinder may be forced upwardly in a suction stroke.

8. An evacuator of the character described comprising: a cap positionable over the mouth of a jar to be evacuated; a hollow stem extending up from the top wall of the cap and opening to Cal the interior of the cap; a piston fixed to the stem at a distance from the cap; a cylinder slidable on the piston to form a suction pump for exhausting air from the cap upon motion of the cylinder away from the cap; slideways in the bottom wall of the cylinder at opposite sides of the stem; bell crank levers pivoted t0 swing about axes xed with relation to the cap and each having one leg thereof engaging over said slideways and its other leg extending upwardly and outwardly to provide handles by which the cylinder may be forced upwardly in a suction stroke; and a spring for yieldingly drawing the cylinder down toward the cap.

9. An evacuator of the character described comprising: a cap positionable on the open mouth of a jar to be evacuated; a hollow stem extending up from the top wall of the cap and opening to the interior thereof; a piston on the stem spaced from the cap; a cylinder head slidably splined to the hollow stem to slide thereon toward and from the cap; a cylinder connected to said head and cooperating with the piston to form a suction pump for exhausting air from the interior of the cap and a jar to which the cap is applied; slideways on the under surface of said cylinder head at opposite sides of the hollow stern; and a pair of bell crank actuators pivoted to swing about axes fixed with relation to the cap with one leg of each actuator slidably engaging in one of said slideways and the other legs providing handles so that upon downward pressure on the handles said cylinder is lifted to effect a suction stroke of the pump.

10. In an evacuator for fruit jars and the like of the type wherein the cover is held on by Vacuum within the jar: a suction pump comprising a cylinder and a piston; a tubular stem xed to the piston; a handle support on the tubular stem; a handle pivoted on said support with a part thereof engaging the cylinder so that rocking motion of the handle reciprocates the cylinder with relation to the piston to exhaust air from said tubular stem; and a cap detachab-ly secured to said tubular stem and adapted to fit over the open mouth of a jar from which air is to be eX- hausted, detachment of the cap permitting the application of other sized caps for adaptation to jars of different sized mouths.

11. An evacuator for fruit jars and the like of the type in which the covers are held on by vacuum within the jar comprising: a substantially cup-shaped cap of a size to telescope over the entire covered mouth of a fruit jar; a pump including a piston fixed with relation to the cap and a cylinder for the piston communicated with the interior of the cup-shaped cap and movable away from the cap in the suction stroke of the pump; levers fulcrumed medially of their ends from a part connected with the cap at substantially diametrically opposite sides of the cap and at points adjacent to the cap, the outer ends of said levers providing handles adapted to be swung toward and from a support upon which the fruit jar rests; and a motion transmittingv connection between the inner ends of the levers and the cylinder operable to force the cylinder away from the cap in the suction stroke of the pump during swinging of the handles toward the support upon which the jar rests.

BRUNO 

